John Reed

Interim Superintendent of Schools John Reed sent a letter to school district parents and staff members on Tuesday, December 3, in anticipation of the Wednesday, December 4, release of local 911 calls made to the Newtown Police Department during the events of 12/14 at Sandy Hook School.

In the letter, Dr Reed explained the recordings will be released at 2 pm, and will be available through the offices of Cohen and Wolf in Danbury.

On Friday, November 22, Dr John Reed, Interim Superintendent of Schools in Newtown, issued a message to parents and staff, notifying them that the Newtown Police Department had informed him to expect increased police presence at each of Newtown’s schools on Monday, November 25. The added police presence is in response to an expected influx of media and increased traffic in town when the State Attorney report on the 12/14 incident is released. That release is scheduled for Monday, November 25, at 3 pm.

Interim Superintendent of Schools John Reed sent a letter home to district parents on Tuesday, November 19, in advance of an anticipated release of an investigatory report on the shootings of 12/14 at Sandy Hook School.

The report is expected to be released on Monday, November 25, according to notifications received by local officials. Further details on the report are available here.

For a little more than an hour during their October 24 meeting, members of the finance board, Acting School Superintendent John Reed and Board of Education Chair Debbie Leidlein conducted a candid discussion about the upcoming budget process. Finance board Chairman John Kortze said he had asked the school officials to visit with his board early on in the process.

When John Reed was first hired as superintendent, I was the Middle Gate PTA liaison to the Board of Education and watched closely as he worked his office. I also served on two of his committees charged with sizing the buildings out 10 years.

In all my dealings with John, he conducted himself with the utmost transparency, honesty, and integrity. The children of Newtown always came first.

The Newtown Board of Education announced Tuesday that it is starting its search for a permanent superintendent, while also expressing its gratitude to John Reed for serving as interim superintendent of schools.

Less than 12 hours after the Legislative Council acted to reduce the school district’s budget request by another $300,000, Acting Superintendent John Reed was recording a two-part video message to the community, helping to launch a get-out-the-vote effort he promised to support through a third round referendum June 4.

After about two hours of community input, deliberations and two failed amendments, the Legislative Council voted 9-3 to further reduce the school district’s budget request by $300,000. If approved at a planned third round referendum June 4, that would drop requested Board of Education increase to 3.93 percent

Voters already passed the municipal budget request in a split May 14 referendum. Upon approval, the district budget would stand at $71,045,304.

Around 3:30 pm on May 6, John Reed’s first day on the job as acting school superintendent, he sat back in his chair, peeled a banana and took a bite, chuckling over a question about whether the snack represented breakfast.

But in two separate conversations with The Bee this week, it became evidently clear that Dr Reed is prioritizing a lot of things above and beyond missing an occasional meal.